Barnabas File

This morning I had the opportunity to hear a World War II veteran tell his story.   A Navy medical corpsman, he was on a landing craft that supported the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.   The vessel ferried the injured and the dead from the beaches to England and returned for more.   On the fourth trip, June 16, the landing craft hit a mine and was broken in two.   Of the 150 men aboard, only some thirty survived including my friend.   After floating in a life raft for less than an hour, he and some other survivors ended up on a Liberty ship and finally returned to port. Men like my friend knew that their lives were on the line when they entered military service in WWII.   For young men like him, life had been simple up to that point, but they had never had it easy.   After all, they grew up in the aftermath of the Depression when times were hard and opportunities were limited. My friend completed his service in the States and...

Memorial Day is designated to remember those who have died in the military service of our country.   In worship this weekend, one of our church members reported that 1.3 million Americans have died in all of the wars this nation has fought from the Revolutionary War to Afghanistan.   I believe that this is also a good time to remember others as well—not only the honored dead, but all those who have worn the uniform and those who have stood with them.   In most of the conflicts of the 20 th century in which the United States was involved, there was a common sense of sacrifice.   My grandfather was drafted to fight in World War I and was in a troop ship ready to put out to sea when the Armistice was signed.   My father was drafted and served in World War II in the Pacific.   Both men answered the call to service.   During both of these wars, especially WW II, there was significant personal sacrifice at home as well, not only among the families of...

This is a book that is best taken in small doses.   I would suggest a chapter a day.   It’s not that the material calls a person to deep meditation, but the ideas presented here deserve time for reflection and rumination if they are to have the desired impact.   Although there is little here that is profound and much of it is common sense, the ideas shared can be life-changing.   Davidson’s purpose is to challenge each of us to consider the things that get in the way of pursuing our passion—the thing that will bring us true fulfillment in life. Some of his comments will cause you to smile, some to frown, and some will just get under your skin! Some things here will challenge you; some you will just find meddlesome or preachy.   Either way, you have the opportunity to consider whether to embrace the idea or not.   I have my favorites in the collection and there are some with which I struggle.     In writing about “Perfection,” Dav...

Everyone has a particular worldview.   These are the preconceptions, ideas, and perspectives that help us to understand the world in which we live.   A worldview is not necessarily right or wrong.   In fact, it may not even be based on facts, but our worldview determines how we function and the nature of our agenda in life. By agenda, I mean those things that are important to us, the things to which we will give our attention.   These are the things that give focus to our efforts and determine our priorities.   As we look at our work as Christians, our agenda is usually to build something.   We want to create something that is enduring and redemptive.   It seems to me that we as Christians tend to focus on one of the following agendas. First, an agenda to build the local church.   This may take many forms and most of these are praiseworthy in themselves—reach people for Christ, develop them as disciples, stand with them in their persona...

The featured speaker at last Saturday’s “Healthy Relationships—Healthy Living” conference sponsored by the Pastoral Counseling Centers of Tennessee was author, educator, and trainer Barbara Coloroso .   Her emphasis was on parenting and teaching and specifically on breaking the cycle of bullying.   In an interesting and informative way, she explained the roles of the bully, the bullied, and the bystander in this unacceptable process. Coloroso pointed out that bullying is not about anger or conflict but about contempt.   She writes, Contempt comes with three apparent psychological advantages that allow kids to harm others without feeling empathy, compassion or shame.   These are:   a sense of entitlement; an intolerance toward difference; and a liberty to exclude. Although she is a nationally known expert in this area, her work is not limited to youth and to school campuses.   Coloroso has done work in places like Rwanda were dehumanization le...

Pastor and writer Doug Pagitt has commented, “God is never finished with creation, and God is never finished with us.”   The same is certainly true for the church.   As we reflect on the church, its beliefs, and its practices over the last two thousand years, the developing and changing nature of the church is certainly clear. In his sermon yesterday morning, Mike Smith, pastor of First Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, pointed out the dynamic, changing nature of the church.   He explained that a church that is truly alive is always changing and never achieves a final form.   So what does this mean for us? First, don’t get too comfortable.   Just when we think we have found the best and most effective way to practice “church,” something will come along to upset the equilibrium—human need, culture, or new technology.   Very often, I will hear people say. “Things got worse for the church [the Southern Baptist version anyway] when we lost Discipleship...

I sat down Friday night and watched the two-hour series finale of Smallville .   This concluded the program’s ten year run and perhaps the longest superhero origins story ever mounted.   I liked the series early on, but I have dropped in infrequently in recent years.   I stayed with it through the Kryptonite “freak of the week” period and the “superhero of the week” era, but lost interest six or seven years in.   For one thing, I think I missed Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) who was as complex a figure as Clark Kent/Kal-El (Tom Welling), the series’ protagonist. I also was tired of the “soap opera” dimension that was obviously provided for a younger demographic. When the program debuted, the producers promised “no flights, no tights.”   Although they did violate the first rule from time to time when Clark was not himself, the new producers did allow a memorable flight in the finale although we never really saw Welling in the complete red and blue costume....

Bill Karlson, a career coach, presented a program at the Tennessee Coaches Alliance meeting today.   As he explained the process he uses in working with clients, he posed an interesting question.   He asked, "In dealing with career change, what do you address first--resume, goals, feelings, or skills?   Although I will not share my response, my choice was not Bill's.   He believes that it is important to get the client to deal with his or her feelings first.   Feelings can be a stepping stone or a stumbling block.   The person must process feelings--anger, hurt, sadness, shame, or even joy--associated with the present or previous position before considering the next career move. In the discussion, someone pointed out how difficult it is to get men to discuss their feelings in the workplace (or anywhere else for that matter!).   Karlson acknowledged this and spent some time talking about how to get around this reticence. This incident cau...

Seth Godin’s primary field is marketing, but he shares some ideas in his daily blog that must be applied to the church.   In a recent blog, he commented on “Marketing to Nobody” :   Nobody wears a watch any more. Nobody wears a tie either.  Nobody shops at a bookstore, at least nobody I know. The market of nobody is big indeed. You can do really well selling to nobody if you do your homework. In fact, most companies selling to nobody outperform those that are trying to sell to everyone. In my reading, I come across a lot of information about declining church attendance.  I also read the comments of some that “nobody goes to church anymore.”  Declining attendance is pretty well documented but complete lack of attendance is not.  On any given Sunday (or Saturday night), millions will make their way to a place of worship and participate in the services offered there.  This provides an opportunity for the church to move these individuals from ...

Although he is a Christian, Daniel Harkavy’s Becoming a Coaching Leader is written primarily for business people.   Harkavy has built his consulting business around training leaders to coach their team members to become high performing people.   The book is an overview of the system of training he has developed and taught for over a decade. For the past several months, I have worked through this book with a group of ministers who serve small to medium-sized churches.   We began with the understanding that we would have to adapt this to a church context.   In all honesty, this was a bit difficult.   Participants struggled with how to implement Harkavy’s strategy in the often chaotic life of a local congregation.   Doing so is difficult but not impossible.   I wish I could say that we had been more successful in the attempt!   Every minister would be more effective if he or she could follow the practices and processes that Harkavy presents. ...

As Assistant Secretary of Education in the George W. Bush administration, Diane Ravitch was an early advocate of No Child Left Behind, school vouchers and charter schools.   In an interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air recently, Ravitch explained that her attitude has changed.  She now sees these strategies as a threat to the future of public education.  In her book   The Death and Life of the Great American School System , Ravitch criticizes the emphasis on standardized testing and closing schools as well as the practice to replace public schools with charter schools. The No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top programs have put too much emphasis on standardized testing and made teachers the scapegoat.  Student academic achievement is a complex process that is not limited to what happens in the classroom.  It is dependent on the home environment, parental support, student health, family structure, economics, and so many other factors.  Ravitch ...